In January of this year, a few people in the French government caved in to pressure and economic temptation from Jiang’s dictatorial regime and decided to exclude Falun Gong, a legally registered group in France that represents the best of Chinese traditional culture, from participating in the Chinese New Year parade on the Champs Elysees. Several Falun Gong practitioners were also illegally stopped, searched and detained by the police in Paris, by order of a few individuals in the French government under pressure from the Jiang regime.

A Human Rights Association based in Germany has been paying close attention to China's human rights problems. At their annual general meeting last year, they passed a resolution asking the German government to express concern over China's crackdown on Falun Gong and to help release the imprisoned Falun Gong practitioner Xiong Wei. Last weekend they passed a five-point resolution based on last year's resolution and submitted it to the European Parliament.

A German MP, Mr. Hermann Groehe, who is also the president of the Christian Democratic Party’s branch of the Government’s Human Rights Association, wrote a letter in reply to German Falun Gong practitioners on the 6th of April, stating that he agreed with the EU’s decision of supporting the U.S resolution on condemning China for its human rights performance.

Due to the pressure from the Chinese Consulate in Toronto, the Toronto city council recently rejected a motion to declare May 13 as Falun Dafa Day. According to a report in the Toronto Star, Councilor Michael Walker said after the vote: "In this case, human rights was susceptible to lobbying by the government of China, which said we might hurt our economic activities with the country of China. I don't think human rights are negotiable."

From the 24th to the 28th of January, 2004, during the time of the China-France cultural parade and Hu Jintao's visit to France, several Falun Gong practitioners were arbitrarily arrested and mistreated in Paris because of pressure from the Chinese regime. Falun Gong practitioners wrote to National Assembly Members, pointing out the unfair treatment Falun Gong practitioners received in Paris at the end of January.

French police, who were unaware of the truth about Falun Gong, arrested practitioners. After the incident, French practitioners let people in French political circles know more about Falun Gong and requested that the responsible persons bear legal responsibilities and apologise. The Falun Gong practitioners’ appeal is receiving more and more attention and support from people.

"Thank you for sending me the articles regarding the persecution of Falun Gong. Please rest assured, I support the complaint against this cultural suppression. Sir, I hope you can use all your courage and carry on making great efforts. Please accept my best wishes."

After Falun Gong practitioners were detained arbitrarily in Paris due to pressure from the Jiang regime’s lies, they decided to contact all MPs in France to tell them about this incident that violated human rights in France. A lot of members of Parliament were moved when they heard about it and positively expressed their support for us. A member of the Parliament in the 11th section, Mr. Patrick Bloche, is one of them.

Jiang's group desperately needs people to confuse the notions of right and wrong, and they have reinforced such twisted confusion with brainwashing so that they can deceive themselves as well as others and poison the minds of the people. Their purpose is to use their power to manipulate the law for their own self-interests, and to crack down on tens of millions of kind-hearted people in mainstream society. It is Jiang's group who are truly ignoring the well-being of the people and they are the ones who are truly jeopardising social stability.

The annual general meeting of the International Human Rights Association, which is based in Germany, was held in Frankfurt. Several representatives from China and Hong Kong were invited to attend to report on China's human rights situation. Mr. Wu Hongda, a Chinese human rights activist, as well as persecuted Falun Gong practitioners were also invited to address the meeting. The following report is based on German reporter Tian Yi’s broadcast for Radio Free Asia.

On April the 6th, during the annual meeting of the UN Human Rights Commission (UNHRC), the World Women's Organisation (USA) staged a seminar on Human Rights in the Chinese educational system. World Organisation to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG) president John Jaw, Falun Gong practitioner Zhao Ming and Australian human rights lawyer Christopher Nyst were invited to this seminar.

"I cannot do anything but agree that the treatment meted out to those who belong to Falun Gong, and also to people who are in favour or belong to other persuasions and those with different views, is, from the viewpoint of human rights, unacceptable. That is why I join the voices of those who challenge the representatives of the Peoples Republic of China to re-evaluate their policy toward such groups of citizens and end their persecution."

Czech Falun Gong practitioners organised a Press Conference outside the seat of the President's Office. Several VIPs joined the appeal with a statement, “We join the appeal to stop the persecution of Falun Gong members and other prisoners of conscience in China and call on the President Mr Vaclav Klaus to unambiguously express support to these people.“

"Since Jiang’s group began suppressing Falun gong in 1999, authorities in Zhangjiagkuo City, Hebei Province, have followed Jiang’s persecution instructions to the letter. In addition to illegal imprisonment and sending a huge number of Falun Gong practitioners to forced labour camps, over ten practitioners have been persecuted to death in that city. Among them were two of Chen Aizhong’s family members, who were tortured to death in succession, Chen Aizhong and his younger sister Chen Hongping."

"Thank you very much for letting me know the situation of the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China. I felt distress and anger when I read about the few brief and particular cases you mentioned in your letter. At the same time, I sincerely wish that the Falun Gong practitioners’ difficult situation can be improved and solved as soon as possible."

"Amnesty International has been closely monitoring the Chinese Government's persecution of Falun Gong for a long time and have expressed its concern many times."

Ms. Yoko Kaneko, a Japanese Falun Gong practitioner who was imprisoned in a Chinese forced labour camp for one and half a years, gave an account at a forum of the United Nations’ Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) of the brutal torture and brainwashing that she has experienced. She called for an immediate end to the persecution of Falun Gong.

I located the Labour Education Committee in Kunming City, and asked them where my wife was being detained. They informed me that if I was not happy with her sentence, I could appeal for reconsideration. I told them that if this was a place with justice, my wife would not have been arrested, where else could I go to appeal? No one there could answer me.

According to news released by the Falun Gong Information Centre on April the 6th, during the 60th Session of the U.N. Human Rights Commission, several dozen non-governmental organisations will gather at the U. N. headquarters in New York on April the 8th to urge the member countries of the U.N. Human Rights Commission to pay attention to China’s human rights practices. They also will urge the U.N. Human Rights Commission to support the resolution introduced by the U.S. to condemn China’s human rights practices.

The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG) announced on April the 6th 2004 that it had published a new book entitled "Investigation Reports on the Persecution of Falun Gong" and its spokesman Mr. John Jaw would introduce the book for the first time in Geneva, where the United Nations Human Rights Commission meeting is being held.

The 60th Session of the U.N. Human Rights Commission is being held in Geneva from March the 15th to April the 23rd 2004. Member of the German Human Rights Committee, Mr. Haibach, who is also member of the German Parliament, arrived in Geneva on Monday. Here is a transcript of an interview held prior to his departure for Geneva.

On the afternoon of April the 2nd, the American delegation attending the meeting of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights organised a seminar regarding the resolution condemning China’s human rights abuses. Those attending included representatives of the United Nation’s member states, human rights organisations, Falun Gong practitioners and members of Family Church etc. The auditorium did not have a vacant seat.

This resolution points out that China's human rights record continued worsening in the past year. Examples include the on-going repression of spiritual and political groups such as Falun Gong practitioners, Tibetans, Catholics, Protestants, the unjust arrest and detention of spiritual leaders and political dissidents, harsh conditions in prisons and labour camps, forced-labour in labour camps, coercive family planning policies, and deprivation of fundamental freedoms of expression, assembly and press.

On April the 2nd 2004, during the U.N. Human Rights Commission in Geneva, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations held a consultation to discuss the draft resolution on China’s human rights abuses, which the U.S. government planned to introduce to the U.N. Human Rights Conference. More than one hundred representatives from various governments’ and non-governmental organisations' missions to the United Nations participated in this consultation.

In March 2004, French MPs Christina Jeanjean and Roger Karoutchi sent letters to Falun Gong practitioners expressing concern about the French police’s misconduct towards Falun Gong practitioners at the time of Hu Jintao’s visit during the Chinese New Year, and asking the French government for a strict investigation. Roger Karoutchi said in his letter, “The issue you stated is extremely serious, so I will definitely ask the French government to allow the facts to be openly discussed.”

"The Liberal Democrat party recognise the on-going struggles of the Falun Gong practitioners, and have written to the UK government on their behalf in the past. I have also contacted the French authorities personally, and requested of the Directorate General of the National Police that an investigation into this matter be conducted and that steps be taken to ensure such a situation will not arise in the future."

On March 22nd, the US government put forward a resolution condemning China’s human rights. In response, the Chinese government not only put forward a White Paper to defend its position, but also tried to persuade some member African nations to shun the resolution. To gauge the reaction of the German society and government, RFA’s correspondent interviewed a Law scholar from the University of China, Ms Zheng Zhihong, now living in Berlin, on the evening of Tuesday 30th.

'You mentioned in your letter that China (Jiang’s regime) persecuted the human rights of the Falun Gong group who persevere in practicing a traditional Chinese meditation practice. For this reason, I have passed all this information to the foreign department of my country. Regarding this issue, my country will carry on investigating and will reply and provide help accordingly.'

Ever since the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners began on July 20, 1999, the media and human rights organisations around the world continuously reported on the Chinese Government's cruelty towards Falun Gong practitioners, including psychiatric abuse. According to incomplete data, about 1,000 healthy Falun Gong practitioners were forcibly sent to mental institutions, and many were forcibly injected with psychotropic drugs. They received forced electro-shock and some were tied up and force-fed for long periods of time. At least 10 practitioners died from this type of maltreatment. Many of these practitioners were held in hospitals for as long as two and a half years. At least ninety mental institutions in China participated in this particular part of the persecution.

"The core mission of GMR is to “Call for conscience, moral courage and actions for justice”. In particular, we are committed to raising the awareness of the genocide, genocide of conscience and brutal persecution against Falun Gong practitioners in China; and we strive to rescue all the Falun Gong practitioners that are persecuted and tortured in jails, labour camps, mental hospitals, and detention centres. Last but not least, we will initiate, coordinate, and support any efforts of the international community that help to end the persecution and bring the persecutors to justice internationally and in China."

In the last two months, several Lords and MPs have raised questions in the UK parliament about China’s worsening human rights record. For example, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Mr. Bill Rammell, said, “…we urge that the rights of Falun Gong adherents be respected.”

According to the message sent out through an NGO established last year in New York, China Psychiatric Watch, that Further to last month message, a plan for WPA and SP joint meeting (visit) in Beijing on April the 4th 2004 was accepted by the Chinese Minister of Health and the CSP for examining the records, interviewing patients and their families or doctors who were involved in the examination of those patients after obtaining their consent and access to what is required for those cases that allegedly were subjected to psychiatric abuse.

"We normally think of terrorists as a group of individuals who use violent methods to terrorize a state into submitting to their demands. State terrorism is when a whole nation’s resources are harnessed to terrorize its individuals into submitting to the will of the ruling party or leader. This is standard dictatorial and especially Communist practice, not only in China. The description fits exceptionally well the brutal persecution which the former Chinese President Jiang Zemin unleashed against Falun Gong practitioners in China."

Through beautiful music and dance, the human rights evening hoped to remind people of the continuous violations of human rights in other parts of the world. Taking place before the meeting of the UN Human Rights Commission, the human rights evening appeared more meaningful.

The Celebration of the Chinese New Year in Paris this February was marked by the harassment of Falun Gong practitioners by the French police, who were under pressure from the Chinese government. A French Falun Gong practitioner wrote a letter to his MP. The MP Mr. Alain Marleix replied and suggested that the incident be investigated. Mr. Marleix immediately forwarded the practitioner’s letter to the president of UMP, his political party, and suggested an investigation of this incident. He also expressed his concern to the relevant departments.

On March the 15th, Mr. Ueli Leuenberger, member of the Swiss Federal Parliament, and Ms. Maria Roth-Bernasconi, councillor of Geneva State, sent speeches to the anti-persecution press conference held by Falun Gong practitioners at the Places Des Nations. In Mr. Leuenberger’s letter, he indicated his support for practitioners’ efforts to promote the value of human rights in China.

On Saturday March the 6th, more than 50 Falun Gong practitioners from Karlsruhe and the surrounding cities held a rally in the Market Square in Karlsruhe city. They let people know about progress in the criminal indictment filed in the German Federal Procuratorate in Karlsruhe against the former Chinese President Jiang and his accomplices. Practitioners also collected signatures to support this lawsuit. Many NGOs gave speeches to express their support. The following is a speech made by a human rights lawyer Wolfgang Kaleck.

"I hereby offer my support in your fight for the respect of human rights in China. I also express my support for women and men who take action worldwide in favour of human rights. Those who practise discrimination, suppression, imprisonment, physical torture and psychological torture, those who aim at the elimination of women and men because they belong to a particular philosophical, political or religious trend, must meet with wholehearted disapproval and condemnation."

According to a report on March the 15th 2004 from Falun Dafa Information Centre, some Falun Gong practitioners submitted the case of illegal arrest of Li Ling and Pei Jilin for practising Falun Gong to the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (the Working Group). After over 5 months of investigation, the Working Group rendered the above opinion, which will be reproduced in the Working Group's report to the Commission on Human Rights at its sixty-first session.

"Torture is unacceptable and total prohibition against all inhuman treatment that undermines the dignity of the individual must be promoted in the most forceful manner possible. Torture is one of the most shameful attacks against human rights."

"In her discussion with China, the former High Commissioner of Human Rights, Mrs Mary Robinson, denounced the violations against Falun Gong many times. Special Rapporteurs of the Commission of Human Rights continue to report on the importance of the violations. At the present time, the Chinese Government does not abide by the international law, as it uses different means to prevent the Commission from discussing the topic of Falun Gong."

"Interfaith International supports your belief and the freedom of belief and expression in China. We’ll support you during this Commission of Human Rights to denounce intolerance against Falun Gong in China."

"The truth about the world’s most evil human rights abuser, Jiang Zemin, finally comes to light. Jiang Zemin uses state resources and orders Chinese government officials to carry out his atrocities. Fully utilising China’s media, Jiang initiated a fabricated propaganda campaign to present fictitious events, deceive people and incite hatred against Falun Gong."

"Over the four years of repression, at least 880 adherents of this spiritual group have died in prisons, labour camps or police stations from torture. One is informed weekly of an increased number of deaths. Torture is a daily ritual in Chinese police stations and prisons. Please believe us that these are not abuses attributable to a few individuals, but a systematic suppression of Falun Gong by the Chinese Communist Party and the country’s leadership. This is no secret, as the country and party’s leadership stressed repeatedly that Falun Gong had to be eliminated."

"With the 60th Session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva quickly approaching, we would like to encourage you to help rescue Falun Gong practitioners who are persecuted in China, to co-sponsor a China Resolution to highlight the Falun Gong persecution and other human rights abuses, and to obtain passage by the Commission of such a resolution."

In the latter half of February 2004, a western Dafa practitioner received a phone call from the Swedish Liberal Party, inviting practitioners to join their meeting and introduce Falun Gong to them. A party representative said that they were very eager to understand more about Falun Gong and why it is being persecuted in China.

“This cooperative human rights dialogue will make sense only after China has the sincerity to improve its human rights. Nonetheless, the cruel persecution participated and inflicted by all levels of the entire Chinese government system on Falun Gong has lasted more than four years. The facts showed that the Chinese government doesn’t have any sincerity to improve its human rights.”

"With the 60th Session of United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva quickly approaching, we write, on behalf of the 40 international human rights organizations signed below, to ask you to please join us to encourage the United States in taking the lead to draft a China Resolution to condemn Falun Gong persecution and other human rights abuses and to urge all countries with representatives at the 60th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Commission to support passage of such a resolution."

As practitioners continue to make efforts to tell people about Dafa and the persecution, more people have come to understand the truth. However many people still have an impression of Dafa that appears correct but is actually wrong, whilst some even have misunderstandings. We have sent truth clarifying materials to various human rights organizations in Scotland but overall not much feedback was received. In order to clarify the truth further, Dafa practitioners in Scotland decided to meet various human rights organizations face to face.

"...it is the sense of the undersigned that the United States Government should continue its tradition in taking the lead in drafting a China Resolution to highlight Falun Gong persecution and other human rights abuses and taking the lead in organizing multilateral support to obtain passage by the Commission of such a resolution."